The Nine (Blood and Fire)

Prologue

     Long ago... There was peace.

     Peace in a world that had once been filled with the cup of war. troubled with battle. Until nine races united. The Nine Kingdoms of Men; The Alliance of Elves; The Empire of Fae; The Tribes of Orcs; The Fellowships of Caryatids and Atlantes; The Kingdom of Zaadia; The Underhall of Dwarves; The Dragons of the Highpeak; and the Atlantyeans of the Dark Sea. These races formed that rock-hard peace. A peace that seemed to last for eons. Peace, that while as hard as obsidian, was as brittle as slate. One wrong move... One kingdom that goes against it... Would send it all toppling down. A landslide of ruin and war. A tsunami of destruction.

     Despite such inquiries, there was one man that wanted to end it all. Craved to do so. King Dargarian Smitelord, wanted to end the elves. With the help of the orcs, Dargarian laid siege on Zaadia. This treachery cleaved the races in two, ultimately leading each side to form their conclaves. The humans gained the support of Underking Damascus and The Orcish Warchief. While the Zaadians gained the favor of Elowynnon, King of Elves; Queen Faeye of the Fae; and Sea-King Paerceris. Caryatids and Atlantes had no leader, so they fight for their choosing. Dragons have not chosen a side...

     Zaadia City was the largest known city in the entire Realm of Tangea, but its population on the night of the incursion was mostly that of scholars, advisors, and women and children. The soldiers and knights had been assigned to the nearby city of Ul'Garabthar, where Orcs were laying siege, by the orders of Smitelord as a battle strategy. Leaving Zaadia City essentially unguarded, with only a few guards actually in the city. The city's guard fell in the day. The city's citizens were massacred in the week following the siege. Only a sad number of ninety-three people escaped the city. Ul'Garabthar fell a week later. The southernmost city of Tharn fell just two days after Ul'Garabthar. Arnstat fell later in the week. It took a total of a month to conquer the entire continent of Zaadia. The total number of survivors rose to only two hundred and four. That number has risen very little in thirty-seven years...

     Of the survivors was Prince Sevewrynn Morrostarr the Third, whose father was slain by the humans during the siege. The Prince, now a king with no throne, was trained by the refugees as a rogue, the prince learned how to fight, to hunt, to kill. Sevewrynn was a force to be reckoned with. He went from being a lady's man to a full-blown murderer. A killer in the dark. A monster under the bed. But Sevewrynn's life is not a massive dark shadow. He married the love of his life, Eltariel Elmestarr. His one light in the darkness. Sevewrynn is a relentless fighter for his people. Someone to follow, and because of this he gathered up the remaining people of Zaadia, founding the Eternal Flame. Eventually, he gained the title of Rogue-King, a title earned through his time as an assassin for an undisclosed benefactor. A rather mocking title, but one that fits him well. Now his name has spread across all nine major races, gaining a reputation among the Kingdoms of Man as a high person on their hit list. Likewise, King Dargarian Smitelord is high on Sevewrynn's...

     To this day the Eternal Flame has fought against the forces of Dargarian Smitelord, trying to overrun or outright stop supply chains. The Flame has tried its hardest to cut off supply routes from several cities. And even attacking citizens and guards. Little of the Flame's presence has been seen in the major skirmishes, though don't be distracted. They are there. They are always there. This is the story of Sevewrynn's fight in the war of Humans versus Zaadians. Will Sevewrynn be victorious in slaying Smitelord to regain his pride? Or will he fall short? You must continue reading to find out...